


certainty

by quibbler



Series: teacher/student au [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-25
Updated: 2014-09-25
Packaged: 2018-02-18 16:51:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2355608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quibbler/pseuds/quibbler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>or five times jemma simmons realises she might fancy her professor (and might love fitz).</p>
            </blockquote>





	certainty

**Author's Note:**

> Written because I need fluff after last night's season premiere destroying me. (If you're curious, I'm mostly going to ignore it until we get real answers.)
> 
> I own nothing. Unbeta-ed, mild mentions of sexual content.

i.

Jemma Simmons is always early during the first week of classes. She likes to introduce herself to her professors and whatever TAs are available so she can establish a rapport if it becomes necessary. (She doesn't like to brag, but she almost never needs it to go over material.)

Her Thursday lecture is a course on mechanical engineering that she takes because it's an available elective and she has nothing else to do, and maybe it will be a challenge because she knows very little about it. Of course, she has a solid grasp of mechanics, but it's not quite the same, so she's hoping that if she speaks to her professor (Professor Leo Fitz is written on her schedule at home, circled in red), perhaps it would be easier to ask questions later.

Skye is in the kitchen reaching for the milk in the fridge when Jemma leaves for the lecture almost a half hour early. "Isn't your class not until 9?"

Jemma nods, flipping through her bag to make sure she has everything. "Yes, but I thought I'd meet the professor beforehand."

"Nerd. Well, have fun."

Jemma sticks her tongue out at her flatmate before she leaves.

The classroom itself is small and empty and looks as plain as most of the other rooms in the building, so Jemma keeps an eye out for an office door. She thinks the professor is probably here already because it's the first day of class and she's about to sit down at a desk before she spots a door that is slightly ajar in the alcove on the other side of the room.

She walks up to the door and knocks before opening the door. "Professor Fitz?"

He looks up at her and her first thought is that he doesn't look that much older than she is. Her second thought is that he's kind of adorable. "Just Fitz is fine. How can I help you?"

The third is that he's Scottish and that really shouldn't make her heart skip a beat. She only smiles instead, holding her books closer to her. "I'm Jemma Simmons. I just wanted to introduce myself and I’d wait until the end of class, but I have to get across campus for my next one and I thought this might be better timing."

He smiles at her and she tries not to break eye contact in case she blushes. "Well, it's nice to meet you." He holds out his hand and takes a few steps toward her and she shifts so she can reach out a hand, too. "If you have any questions, any at all, don't hesitate to ask."

When they go around the room introducing themselves, she finds herself inexplicably watching him more often than not and she is about 23% certain that this class might not be as terrible as she expected.

\-----

ii.

She usually sits in the front row because it means getting out of the room more quickly to get to her next class, and she needs all the time she can get. But that also means she is directly in Professor Fitz's line of sight, and she also has no excuse to look anywhere except at him and the lesson he's presenting, no way to glance down at her mobile sitting in her lap or doze off like some other students likely are, if she were that sort of student.

No, instead she is watching him gesture animatedly as he elaborates on his powerpoint, eyes lighting up with excitement. Of course, his passion for his subject is contagious, but she's far more focused on his clothing. She might be ogling. Just a little.

He usually dresses somewhat casually, though he seems to put more effort into looking decent than some professors. Fitz is wearing a collared shirt under what looks like a navy jumper, a tie just visible over the neckline, jeans, neat trainers, and a grey sports jacket with elbow patches.

It's the jacket that distracts her the most. It doesn't overwhelm his lanky frame and she really doesn't want to be one of those students who lusts after a professor or judges anyone shallowly off of their appearance, but he is really attractive right now, even when he nearly knocks his glasses off his face. She's sort of paying attention, but whatever she misses she can easily go over when she returns to her flat for the evening and Fitz is just really, really cute.

She answers her allotted number of questions before he's saying _someone other than Simmons, please_ and she tries not to grin. Even as someone outside the field, she still manages to be the best student and she proves it time and time again in the classroom and during office hours. If there's a debate to be had, she'll challenge the professor and her classmates will egg them both on.

When class is over, she tries to shake the idea of her wearing his jacket out of her head because this is not the time for silly daydreams, and she heads to the front of the room to turn in her assignment. "I'll see you at office hours?" she asks, though she probably doesn't need to anymore, not when she shows up almost every listed time if she hasn't got class or her own discussion sections to lead.

He smiles and she returns it. "See you then."

It's almost like a date and she's at least 40% certain this might be more than a passing crush.

\-----

iii.

Jemma is walking on eggshells. Well, she's stomping on them, really, because she doesn't really care anymore. Fitz is watching her with a fond smile on his face and she nearly loses her train of thought, but she isn't derailed quite yet.

They're walking back to her building and it's now past midnight. She has an 8am lecture in the morning and doesn't know how they've been talking for so long, but the entire evening has passed and it feels a little like a date. She tries not to think about it but the idea threads itself through all of her attempts to distract herself. In the ten minutes it takes to get, she has made up her mind. Jemma turns to him when they reach her building doors and she gives him a small smile. "Thank you, Fitz, really. I'll see you in class tomorrow?"

He nods and maybe he was about to speak but she leans in to kiss his cheek, staying slightly longer than is probably polite and when she straightens, he looks a bit like a lost puppy but there's something encouraging about it and she smiles, ducking into the building.

The moment she gets upstairs, she grabs a scrap of paper and writes down her number and a short note, 65% certain that this is probably a bad idea but she knows what she wants.

\-----

iv.

They haven't been separated since the exam was finished and Fitz had collected all of his papers and Jemma is entirely too glad she kissed him in front of her remaining classmates.

She thinks she could get used to this as he presses kisses to her bare skin and his hips buck into hers. She can't get close enough to him, wants to surround herself with him and stay there. Her hands roam his back and when they both see stars, she doesn't want to stop kissing him.

When she returns from the bathroom, the look he gives her fills her chest with giddy excitement and affection and what feels like love. She is 87.4% certain, but when she tries to tell him, she just inadvertently calls him old instead.

It might become a running habit.

\-----

v.

He is frowning when Jemma reappears in the kitchen wearing his shirt and glasses and her favourite jacket of his and not much else. "This is not a good look on me," she notes, scrunching her nose as she lets the glasses slip down the bridge of her nose. Fitz looks momentarily torn between grinning and keeping the scowl on his face, but the scowl wins. "I'm you, Dr. Fitzy."

"I rather need my glasses, Jemma," he says warily as she stands there with her hands on her waist, but then he smiles. "I dunno, I could live with you wearing my shirts, and you take that jacket more often than I thought you would."

She grins, shrugging. "This is the jacket that made me realise how attractive you are, so it's only fair that I lay claim to it." She takes off the jacket, though, placing it gently over the back of a chair and sits across his lap. "Your eyesight is truly awful."

He sighs, wrapping his arms around her waist as he looks up at her with a half-grin. "It's not _that_ bad." She smiles and takes off the glasses, gently placing them on him, tucking the temples behind his ears. "Ahhh, much better. I can see you clearly, down to every freckle."

She scrunches her nose again and leans down to press her forehead to his. "You should stop grading papers, Fitz. You need a break and I want to cuddle."

"Needy." Fitz chuckles and tilts his head up so he can kiss her.

Jemma's hands cup his cheeks and she really thinks she could get used to this, so when she pulls back to beam at him, her eyes searching his face, she is 100% certain. "I love you, old man," she teases, brushing her nose against his.

He stares at her in awe and she feels her cheeks burning at her confession, but she could've said it such a long time ago. She should have said it before, but she doesn't know how to put how she feels into words so it's taken longer than she would've liked. He kisses her again, taking his time, his teeth running along her bottom lip. It's his turn to pull back and he does, gasping slightly as his eyes hold her gaze. "I love you, too, Jem."

All she sees is the blue of his eyes and it makes her head swim.


End file.
